“Yes. We… are still good friends, right?”

And I vowed to myself.

Until Hiss becomes the crown prince, I’ll hide behind the word ‘friend’. If Hiss becomes the crown prince, I can repay the debt a little.

And I can definitely conclude this contract relationship.

“Of course. Being friends will never change.”

Hiss accepted it without a wrinkle.

Hiss handed me an umbrella.

“Take this.”

I blinked in surprise.

“What about Hiss?”

“I have to go. It’s not far from here to the carriage, so you take the umbrella, Reina.”

“The carriage? Are you going far?”

Hiss stretched out a hand and touched the rain.

“I have to leave for Crisia before the rain gets worse. It looks like there’ll be thunder tonight, so I have to check the lightning rods one last time.”

Before I could open my mouth, Hiss gave me a glance.

“Don’t even say you’ll come with me.”

“Pa.”

“Don’t say ‘partner’ either.”

His somewhat stern words made me shut my mouth like a clam.

“I can’t take Reina to a place where Elding might appear.”

“Hiss.”

“I’ll be with the extermination squad, so you don’t have to worry.”

“But I.”

But Hiss had already dashed into the rain.

In the end, I stood in the rain for a while, holding an umbrella in one hand and a jacket in the other.

(This is a time separator.)

Kirian seemed to be avoiding me.

From the day of the conflict with Gerald, Kirian only showed up for lessons and then disappeared without a trace.

“Kirian, dinner.”

Even if I asked him to eat.

“Sorry, later.”

Even if I tried to question him.

“How’s training lately?”

“I’m busy right now.”

Even if I spoke nonsense.

“You look like a dogfaced monkey.”

“Thanks, sister.”

And he hurriedly left somewhere.

Eventually, on a day when the rain started to pour heavily, I devised a plan to expose the suspicious Kirian one by one.

Operation StickandPull.

During class, I gradually moved my chair closer to Kirian and attacked as soon as the bell rang.

If I just grabbed his arm, I thought I could easily shake him off, so I hugged him with both arms and hung on with my whole body.

“Din! Ner! Let’s! Eat!”

I closed my eyes tightly, ready to be thrown off, and clung to Kirian. But no matter how long I waited, the rough struggle I had expected didn’t come.

Instead, arms wrapped around me, supporting my waist firmly.

“Sister.”

When I slowly opened my eyes, I met Kirian’s eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Kirian asked a bit sternly, his ears slightly red.

“No……”

I was suddenly embarrassed by the tight hug, but I steeled myself.

“You seem to be avoiding me.”

I glanced at Kirian, somehow embarrassed.
“Are you really not hiding anything? It’s quite suspicious.”

“What would I hide from my sister?”

Kirian answered smoothly without hesitation. But once again, his gaze shifted to the window where the rain was pouring down.

“Sorry, sister. Dinner will have to wait for next time. I’m a bit busy today.”

With a gentle force trying to push me away, I clung on desperately.

Kirian could have easily shaken me off, but perhaps worried that I might get hurt, he withdrew his strength.

“What do you mean, next time? Eat now.”

Something was definitely suspicious. His meeting with Gerald, the way Kirian seemed to keep avoiding me, everything was suspicious.

But I couldn’t figure anything out, as Kirian was avoiding me like the plague.

I made up a lame excuse, but instead of getting angry, Kirian lowered his eyebrows as if in trouble.

His arm, which was trying to push me away, seemed to be tightening more and more, and Kirian gently leaned his head on my shoulder.

“Should I…?”

Barely audible, Kirian’s muttering grew deeper as he sighed. I felt his warm breath where his neck and shoulder met.

“So, you’re not busy then?”

Kirian seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then someone’s voice was heard.

“Master Kirian.”

It was Esmeralda. She tapped Kirian’s shoulder with a smiling grin.

“You promised to have dinner with me today, didn’t you?”

Tilting her head, Esmeralda flashed a mischievous smile, almost winking. Kirian, after staring at Esmeralda for a moment, slowly nodded.

“That’s right.”

I let go of Kirian, baffled. As I tried to step back, I was caught again by Kirian’s arm still wrapped around my waist.

“With Esmeralda?”

I couldn’t help but ask, though it was strange to question.

“Yes.”

Kirian answered simply, as if it were obvious.

In a way, it was obvious. What was so surprising about the male and female protagonists of the original work having a meal together? But I had to ask again.

“Can I join you?”

Quite innocently, as if there was no hint of tact to leave them alone.

“I have no one else to eat with. It’s boring to eat alone.”

“No.”

Kirian answered firmly, still holding on to me, his refreshing mint fragrance tickling my nose.

“We agreed to eat alone.”

I opened my mouth foolishly, even though asking would only add more weight to a dead end.

“So all this time, you’ve been avoiding me because of all this……”

As Kirian glanced at Esmeralda, she smiled and nodded slightly. An utterly intimate look, as if sharing a secret, passed between them.

I couldn’t bear it any longer and shook off Kirian’s arm, stepping back.

Kirian, who easily let go of me, gave me exactly the answer I expected.

“Yes. I was with Esmeralda.”

It was more than breathtaking. It was as if I had been punched in the solar plexus, my insides twisting. But nothing was as ugly and nauseating as revealing this, so I laughed playfully.

“I knew it. I knew you two would become close from the beginning.”

It was truly an honest statement, without a hint of falsehood.